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Judge Signs Off on L.A. Archdiocese Settlement; Abbas, Olmert Meet; Incredible Journey for South Florida Teen
Aired July 16, 2007 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: The biggest payout yet for sex abuse claims in the biggest Catholic archdiocese in the U.S.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Six hundred and sixty million bucks will keep a cardinal off the witness stand, but it won't buy forgiveness from the victims of pedophile priests.
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Don Lemon.
And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: A landmark settlement in hundreds of sex abuse cases, abuse by Catholic priests in this country's largest archdiocese.
CNN's Kara Finnstrom was in a Los Angeles courtroom this morning when the deal was done.
Bring us up to date, Kara, on the details.
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that settlement made official today in an emotionally-charged, packed courtroom. An attorney for the plaintiffs tells us that essentially what this means now is that all of the cases are settled. However, he tells us there are a number of religious orders that declined to participate in the settlement, and so some lawsuits are now pending against them.
The settlement also lays out that these 508 plaintiffs should receive their payments by the 1st of December, and it also stipulates that some confidential church records of the accused priests be released. This was something that Mahony had been fighting for a long time, something that these plaintiffs thought was very important for the truth to come out in all of this.
Now, some of those plaintiffs did come down just a little while ago, and they have been speaking and sharing some of their feelings. Very mixed emotions that they're sharing with us today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ESTHER MILLER, CLAIMS PRIEST ABUSE: ... into priesthood from one year only so that he could go on and abuse other victims. Through SNAP, I decided not to kill myself. I heard Mary Grant on SNAP. I was sitting in a parking lot all by myself, wanting to just die. Go away forever.
LEE BASHFORTH, CLAIMS PRIEST ABUSE: I was 7 years old in the picture with Michael Wempey (ph). It was the day of my first communion. It was a very important day in mine and my family's life. And all of that faith and all of the hope and -- in that little boy's face was taken away thanks to Michael Wempey (ph) and evil men like Roger Mahony that gave sanctuary to people like him, and still provide him sanctuary today in terms of...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FINNSTROM: An attorney for the plaintiff said that this actually almost died a couple of times before today, the settlement, and he was so relieved that a settlement had been reached. He got choked up during the proceedings, as did the attorney for the church, who said he would like to have believed that the church could have come to these reforms on its own, but he says he just doesn't see that. He thinks all of this was necessary for serious reform to be made within the church -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, is there any word on what has happened to the priests in question in this case?
FINNSTROM: Actually, I did ask the cardinal about that yesterday. He said most of the priests have either been removed or have died, because a lot of these cases happened so long ago and are just now being brought to justice. But he said that there are a handful of priests who are now on administrative duty, and because all of these civil lawsuits have now been taken care of with the settlement, the church will have to go in and decide what to do with those individual priest cases.
PHILLIPS: All right.
Kara Finnstrom, thanks so much.
Six hundred and sixty million dollars is a lot of money, but would this settlement let too many people off the hook? Next hour, we're going to talk with a former monk about the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese and alleged sex abuse.
HOLMES: Right now, Mahmoud Abbas just might be the United States' best friend in the Palestinian territories. President Bush has just announced a $190 million aid package aimed at bolstering the Palestinian president's government against a resurgent Hamas. He also called for a U.S.-shared Middle East peace conference in the fall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will call together an international meeting this fall of representatives from nations that support a two-state solution, reject violence, recognize Israel's right to exist, and commit to all previous agreements between the parties. The key participants in this meeting will be the Israelis, the Palestinians, and their neighbors in the region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, earlier today, President Abbas met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, talks that the president, President Bush, cheered and Hamas called shameful.
With us now from Jerusalem, Atika Shubert.
Hello there, Atika.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi.
Now, President Abbas desperately needs to strengthen his position in the West Bank, and it seems now both the U.S. and Israel are willing to offer money and other incentives to help him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT (voice over): A warm greeting between old negotiating partners. On the menu, Israeli support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as he attempts to consolidate what's left of his power in the West Bank.
There were no public statements. But Palestinian officials made it clear this meeting was about confirming Abbas as the only leader who can negotiate a political solution for all Palestinians, including those in Gaza, now controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas.
SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: The president, in his capacity as the chairman of the PLO committee, has the jurisdiction for the political negotiations, for the end game, for the two-state solution. And I believe today we can say that it was a good beginning.
SHUBERT: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made Abbas a number of offers, starting to release 250 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails on Friday. Also, amnesty to more than 100 Palestinian militants in the West Bank if they give up their weapons.
Good news for Amjad Halawi (ph), in hiding for seven years, not venturing outside even for a haircut. But others greeted the news with mixed feelings.
"The idea as a whole is good, but we hope all names will be included in the list," Allah Sankara (ph) says. "My brother is not on the list. My friend is not on the list. Let us say I sign and tomorrow they kill my brother. What should I do?"
Why the amnesty? Israel wants to solidify Abbas' position against Hamas. That means securing the support of the various militant and political groups in the West Bank.
(on camera): Abbas may be pinning his hopes on a meeting of those groups in Ramallah on Wednesday. A call for early elections could come out of that meeting, and that may be the route Abbas is hoping to use to sidestep Hamas.
Atiki Shubert, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT: Now, of course, the big question is whether or not it will work. Critics here in Israel say that Abbas is simply too weak politically to benefit from these kinds of incentives from both the U.S. and Israel. And in terms of the Palestinian public, many people there are skeptical about these promises, saying they want to see real, more concrete goals rather than just speeches -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Atika Shubert for us from Jerusalem.
Atika, thank you so much.
PHILLIPS: War overseas, pressure at home. The White House facing both this afternoon as the Senate gets set to resume debate on Iraq and a way out.
Democrats and some Republicans say now is the time to draw up an exit strategy or at least a change of course. But the White House and other Republicans are pushing for patience, at least until the top U.S. commander in Iraq puts out a progress report. That's expected by mid-September.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JON KYL (R), ARIZONA: I don't like to assume a defeatist attitude here. The reports coming back from our troops are very good, and my colleagues, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, just got back, reporting significant progress.
I think the great concern we all have is that the Iraqi government is not doing all of the things that it needs to do. But in terms of our military, they are performing their mission. And I'd rather not judge their mission a failure and start planning for so- called plan B at this point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The White House is rejecting a proposal from two widely respected Republican voices, senators Richard Lugar and John Warner. They say the current war strategy isn't working, and they're pushing the White House to come up with contingency plans, including a limit on the U.S. role in Iraq.
With friends like this, who needs enemies? The "L.A. Times" reports almost half the foreign insurgents attacking U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians are from Saudi Arabia, a country that's supposed to be a U.S. ally. The paper cites a senior military officer who says Sunni militants from Saudi Arabia carry out more suicide attacks in Iraq than militants from any other nation. The U.S. has mostly blamed Syria and Iran for the influx of foreign fighters into Iraq.
HOLMES: Want to take you back to these pictures, video, a story we've been watching for the past couple of hours now. Firefighters have been up against it, this strip mall fire in Alhambra. This is video from a little while earlier, and you can see exactly what they were up against.
That is strip mall at the area of 9th and Valley Boulevard that started, again, around noon Eastern Time, 9:00 local time there in Alhambra. Trying to get official word about exactly what caused this fire, but firefighters do believe that the fire did start in a bakery that's a part of that strip mall.
Several shops and businesses had to be evacuated, and several, as you can see there, destroyed. We did see some of the -- these are the earlier pictures. We did see kind of the final results of all this.
The roof had collapsed, and it's really going to be a tough time salvaging anything from this building, this fire and these businesses. The good word here is that no injuries to report. But again, this is something we've been keeping an eye on for the past couple hours.
As we get more information on it, we'll certainly continue to bring that to you.
Also, turn to Wyoming now and a woman who was singing in a restaurant shot and killed by a sniper. Her estranged husband has sniper training.
Police put two and two together and have launched a manhunt for the husband. His name is David Munis.
He served in the Army and is currently with the Wyoming National Guard. Police describe him as a big hunter and outdoorsman and think he might be hiding in the woods and in my -- or rather in Wyoming. Hiding in the woods certainly doesn't narrow things down at all.
We will keep you posted on this strange story.
PHILLIPS: It's hard enough for the adults to deal with, but what kind of toll is the Iraq war taking on young children?
HOLMES: Also, in custody and apparently under duress. Iranian- American scholars detained in Tehran purportedly confess to spying.
PHILLIPS: Plus, Ferris Bueller only took the day off. Farris Hassan took off for Afghanistan without mom's OK.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Coming up on 2:15 here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here are three of the stories we're working on right now.
(NEWSBREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, when most teens take trips without telling their parents, they get grounded. Not Farris Hassan. A year and a half after sneaking off to Iraq and being promptly sent home, this south Florida teen has made his way to Afghanistan.
Reporter Vanessa Ruiz from our Miami affiliate WSVN has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VANESSA RUIZ, REPORTER, WSVN (voice over): Surrounded by children, smiling next to a local woman, and wearing traditional clothes, images that show 17-year-old Farris Hassan's latest incredible journey, this time to Afghanistan.
FARRIS HASSAN, MAKES TRIP TO AFGHANISTAN WITHOUT TELLING PARENTS: Left on June 24th, didn't tell a single soul.
RUIZ: The south Florida teen once again leaving to a dangerous country without telling his parents, risking his life, he says, for a dream.
HASSAN: To build and lead an internationally competitive college preparatory school in Afghanistan that will give Afghan students an education equal to what students receive in elite prep schools in the United States.
RUIZ: We first heard Hassan's name last year. The risky teen traveling to Iraq without his family's knowledge, paying for the trip himself.
After several fear-filled days for his family, Hassan returned safely home, welcomed by a media frenzy. At least this time he says he called his family from Dubai telling them he was headed to Afghanistan.
HASSAN: I did everything I could to reduce the worries of my family because, you know, it hurts me when they're worrying. It hurts me a lot. So I didn't want them to worry, as little as possible.
RUIZ: Worrying, his mother says, is something impossible not to do.
SHATHA ATIYA, MOTHER: The situation is not stable, and every time after he calls, after he hangs up, I wait for the next call.
RUIZ: A call that comes from one of the most dangerous places on Earth, but that, Hassan says, doesn't worry him.
HASSAN: Because I don't really let fear get to me. I don't give much credence to fear because fear undermines the will and hinders progress. I never really give it much space to operate in my mind.
RUIZ: Vanessa Ruiz, 7 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: An urn filled with human ashes triggers a scare at Miami International Airport. About 2,000 people were forced to evacuate a concourse today after a luggage screener mistook the urn for a bomb. TSA workers say the urn, coupled with other items in a passenger's bag, looked suspicious. Our I-reporter, James Clayton, was coming home from Seattle when it happened. He got this video of terminal F. He was not able to leave until the all-clear was given, and that was about 90 minutes later.
PHILLIPS: Well, it's not your typical summer break. Some young American tourists are throwing rocks instead of parties. Here's one of the travel tips.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you can use is baby wipes or alcohol pads to wipe away the tear gas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, unrest and recreation straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HOLMES: Also, exclusive medical care ahead in the NEWSROOM. Would you pay in advance for a better chance to see your doctor?
Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, you want better health care? A doctor who really listens? Same-day appointments when you're sick? Good luck with that.
Seriously, though, membership-only medical practices are one alternative to the high-volume, high-pressure system most of us could live without.
CNN's Gary Nurenberg takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. THOMAS LANSDALE, PRACTICES RETAINER MEDICINE: Any tenderness here? Any pain?
GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For a $1,500 annual fee, Baltimore doctor Thomas Lansdale is trying to help patients like Steven Kaplan avoid frustrations like this.
GEORGIA WILLIAMSON, PATIENT: You can call a doctor's office. And after you press one for this and three and four and five, and you finally do press the right number on your telephone, and you get an actual person talking to you, "We'll be able to see you in six to seven weeks."
NURENBERG: In Lansdale's office...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a little bit more personal.
LANSDALE: The phone is answered immediately. And if they're sick, they're seen literally that day, sometimes within the hour.
NURENBERG: Lansdale is one of a growing number of doctors who limit the size of their practice by having patients pay an annual retainer for service. They don't accept insurance. It's payment up front.
DR. SIDNEY WOLFE, PUBLIC CITIZEN: I think it's just contrary to the whole ethic of the medical profession.
NURENBERG: Dr. Sydney Wolfe is with the advocacy organization Public Citizen.
WOLFE: And you start distinguishing between the more well to do and the less well to do. So I'm completely opposed to it in any form.
WILLIAMSON: It's like having an old-fashioned family doctor.
NURENBERG: Georgia Williamson says she's healthier because she pays for what she calls a membership program run by her doctor in Virginia.
WILLIAMSON: He's now able to spend the time that he didn't have beforehand.
NURENBERG: In a statement on retainer practices, the American Medical Association says, "Concern for the quality of care the patient receives should be the physician's first consideration." Lansdale says in the typical insurance-driven model he financially needs to see 15 to 20 patients a day.
LANSDALE: I just can't practice medicine that fast. So this model gives me the time to take care of patients in the way that I think they deserve.
NURENBERG (on camera): In addition to the retainer fees, doctors also recommend that patients keep health insurance to pay for tests, specialists and hospital stays. It may be too early to call this a trend, but some patients say it is just what they need.
WILLIAMSON: I know that it works for me. It works for me.
NURENBERG (voice over): Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BUSINESS REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Don Lemon.
War games -- lots of kids play them, but when it's in the midst of a war zone, it can offer a chilling reflection of reality. PHILLIPS: For some Iraqi children, separating fact from fantasy is getting harder to do -- getting even harder to do, rather.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HOLMES: Continuing to show these pictures and update you on this story, this fire we've been watching out in Alhambra, California, for the past couple of hours here.
This is a strip mall in Alhambra around the area of 9th and Valley Boulevard that's been going since about 9:00 local time. Firefighters have been taking this thing on. We do know now that nine businesses have been burned in this, and the aftermath photos pretty much show that not much is left of this building. A roof has collapsed in, and it's pretty much gutted. Again, nine businesses now we're being told have been gutted by this fire. Do not know the exact cause, but firefighters do believe it started in a bakery there in the strip mall.
We do know, as well -- and this is a good thing -- that no injuries being reported to anyone who were in these businesses. However, we do want to report that at least one firefighter had to be taken to the hospital because of smoke inhalation is his condition. Again, we continue to update you on this fire in Alhambra as we get those updates, we'll continue to pass them along to you.
Move on now to "Under the Name of Democracy." That's the program. Iranian TV was promoting it when it aired this footage of two Iranian Americans being held in Iran. The academics are shown apparently confessing to spying and acting against the Islamic state's national security. Our State Department Correspondent Zain Verjee has been following this story. She's with us live now with the latest. Hello, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, T.J. For the first time we're seeing these images of the two detained Iranian-Americans. Basically, they're apparently confessing to spying on Iran and trying to bring the government down. We see a U.S.-based scholar, Haleh Esfandieri, who's been held for 71 days and also an urban planning consultant, who's name is Kian Tajbakhsh.
They're seen in this video separately. They're wearing civilian clothes. They're talking in a living room. It's not clear, experts say, if this is an actual confession or it's just bits of an interview that was done and it's being portrayed by the Iranian government as a confession. Either way, experts told us this really isn't convincing.
It's also a short clip that's being promoted as a bit of a teaser for a longer documentary that Iran says is airing on Wednesday and it's called "Fudged as Democracy." We asked State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack about this. He said that he hasn't seen the images on television that were being aired on Iranian state TV, but he said they've got to be let go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: These are people who have devoted large chunks of their lives to building bridges between the Iranian and the American people. So, to prevent these kinds of people from especially leaving Iran really sends a negative message and is an unfortunate comment about the nature of this particular regime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: And T.J., two other Iranian-Americans are also being held.
HOLMES: And Zain, take us through this tape a little bit and explain a little bit. There are images apparently that are spliced between sound bites. Explain what's going on exactly on this video.
VEEJEE: Yes, let's take another look at it again. It's fairly brief, as I say, but you've got the sound bites from Kian, you've got the sound bites from Haleh. But then you also have these images that are spliced with pictures of revolutions that ended communism in Eastern Europe. And you see that, experts say that what Iran is trying to do is to draw a parallel here because Iran has accused these two Iranian-Americans of carrying out a U.S.-backed Velvet Revolution in Iran. The U.S. has said that that's just ridiculous.
HOLMES: Is this a good thing or a bad thing? The fact we're seeing this tape now, seeing this video, is this good or bad for the prisoners?
VEEJEE: Well, experts that we've talked to, T.J., says basically there could be a glimmer of hope here and it could actually pave the way for their release. There was a Canadian-Iranian scholar that was also held, a philosopher, he was held for four months. Then they got him on TV, he came out with a televised confession and then he was released shortly afterwards. And that man actually also appears on this tape.
HOLMES: All right. Our State Department Correspondent Zain Verjee. Zain, thank you so much.
PHILLIPS: Child's play, in Iraq, it takes on a whole new meaning. Take a look at these disturbing pictures. Two laughing Iraqi boys hold toy guns to the head of a crying playmate in a mock execution. They are just a few of the many images of Iraqi children playing war amid a real war. Just a few examples of children playing dead amid the death that they see all around them. CNN's Jennifer Eccleston has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN: It's a brutal reflection of daily life in Iraq. "Die," they shout, "die now." Plastic machine guns and pistols, a game of kill the insurgents.
(voice-over) " We learned this from the Americans. It's my favorite game.
DR. SAIED AL-HASHIMI, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY: Our children are surrounded by violence. They -- and every direction they look, they see violence.
ECCLESTON: Car bombs, kidnappings, air strikes, and mass displacements. (voice-over) Dr. Saied Al Hashmi is a Professor of Psychiatry.
AL-HASHIMI: I can say that almost all the Iraqi children, especially in Baghdad and around Baghdad, these are what we call the hot zones, most of them are traumatized.
ECCLESTON: Mustafa Kharib (ph) is a seemingly happy young boy, despite living in a squalid refugee camp in the Shiite Baghdad slum of Sadr City. His family was brutally driven out of their village by insurgents.
(voice-over) "They killed my father and uncle in front of my eyes."
Iraq's healthcare system is reeling from victims of the physical brutality of war. Too overwhelmed to deal with the victims of the psychological battle. Many of Iraq's best and brightest doctors have either been murdered or fled the country.
Helping is left to a small team of doctor like Haider Abdul Mohsen (ph). He runs a one-man psychiatric clinic. He says it's the only one in Iraq. Despite meager resources, he treats up to 15 patients a day. Patients like 8-year-old Zahrah (ph). When bombs burst in her neighborhood, she suffered seizures. And 13-year-old Keta. When she hears blasts, she hits her mother.
DR. HAIDER ABDUL MOHSEN: Our children became very violent, became very aggressive. They talk badly. They behave in a bad manner, and we think this is one of the effects of war.
ECCLESTON: Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: He knows the effects of war on children all too well. She grew up in Iraq and she now heads Women for Women International, a group that says helping mothers is key to helping kids. It is a fantastic organization. She joins us live from Washington now.
And Dana, we all noticed, my producers and I, watched you watch that piece and look at those pictures, no doubt it affects you. Tell us why as an Iraqi woman.
ZAINAB SALBI, PRESIDENT, WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL: Well, it's very hard to see that. I mean, this is the other side of war that we don't really talk about that often, which is what happens to the backline discussions of war. What happens to families and the whole discussion of children. How do you send them to school. How do you keep them having normal lives. How do you keep them fed and having water and normal games for that matter.
And that's the reality not only in Iraq but really in every single war. We really need to address that other side of war, understand what does it means because only then do we understand what it means to really, truly build peace. And inn the case of Iraq, it's having that stability, it's where they're having psychiatrists and psychologists provided in the country or rebuilding the country, building the infrastructure, investing in women who are dealing on a day-to-day basis with these kids.
PHILLIPS: Let me ask you, okay, a couple things that you mentioned. You work with the moms, you work with the women. You raise money to support women to be able to survive this type of atmosphere in countries like Iraq. Now, in America, you see pictures like that, and I can tell you probably almost every mother would be appalled and say you no longer are you playing with those gun, and this is not now how you treat each other. Do -- are mothers mothering in a different way because they're not quite sure what to do? I mean, why are we seeing activities like this in the streets so often and seeing pictures like this on a regular basis?
SALBI: I'm glad you asked this question, because there are particular challenges in wars. As someone who grew up myself in war during the Iran-Iraq war, for example, I remember my mother playing puppet games in the middle of sirens, in the middle of a raid so we would not be scared. So you try your best, I remember her trying her best not to make us be scared and to give us a sense of a normal life.
Right now in Iraq, as I talk with my colleagues at Women for Women International, in Baghdad and southern provinces in Iraq, they talk about the realities of their children seeing dead, mutilated bodies on a daily basis in front of their homes and how challenging it is to change even the subject of the children talking about the kind of mutilation and the kind of killing that they have witnessed. These things are very, very hard to combat.
You know, I still remember the dead bodies I have grown up seeing in the Iran-Iraq war, so that's part of the long-term trauma of war. And it is much more challenging to be a parent in war. And that is why we actually really have to pay particular attention to women, supporting them support children and giving better life and better images to their children, but it's challenging.
PHILLIPS: Definitely challenging. You've been there to Iraq. I've been there to Iraq. It's not like you can just make a phone call and say, you know, my child is experiencing some trauma, I'd really like to set an appointment with a psychologist and bring him in on Wednesday morning for the next four weeks.
SALBI: Right.
PHILIIPS: So, are you involved with efforts to get psychiatrists, psychologists in that country helping out, whether it is humanitarian help or actually Iraqi doctors? Or is that just something that it's too much of an extra amid everything else that country needs right now? SALBI: Not at all. This is actually, in midst of the daily needs that we are dealing with in Iraq. We work with about a thousand Iraqi women in Iraq at this moment, and whenever we talk to them about their daily needs, they do talk about these issues.
They talk about their children's schooling and their reality and they talk about their economic needs. So part of what we do is actually provide social workers and support networks for women where they can talk about these challenges and try to articulate ways in which they can address these challenges.
Now, this is what Women for International is trying to do at any given moment and anybody in America can be part of our efforts by sponsoring a woman in Iraq right now, and just helping one woman at a time. There is a larger national issue, which is professional Iraqis are mostly outside the country, and we really need to recruit them to come back to the country.
And part of that becomes a precondition of building stability and security and economic investment in the country. So, there are two issues here. We are trying our best as a NGO, as a nonprofit organization by helping Iraqi women and the national issues of how do we retreat (ph) and how do we recruit the professional Iraqis back into the country.
PHILLIPS: That's a great point, because I admire the doctors that do stay and try and make a difference.
SALBI: Very much.
PHILLIPS: In addition to your organization, I've got to mention it again, log on to your web site, the Women for Women International based out of D.C. you do amazing work, Zainab. Thanks for just responding to the pictures and talking to us about this subject matter.
SALBI: Thank you very much. Thank you.
Taking a break? but this is no vacation.
HOLMES: Taking a break, but this is no vacation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAL PERRY: What worries you the most when you're out here doing this?
RYAN GRAVES, AMERICAN ACTIVIST: Getting shot with American ammunition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Young westerners head to the Middle East to throw their support behind Palestinians. Might not be your idea of a summer break. That story is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: The State Department is updating its warning on travel to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. The new bulletin gives more details on the recent factional violence in Gaza. It says westerners face a serious kidnapping threat. Overall though, its recommendations haven't changed. Americans should be mindful of security risks when traveling to Israel, and should defer visiting the West Bank.
As for Gaza, don't even do it. The warning reiterates that all Americans already there, including journalists and aid workers, should leave ASAP.
PHILLIPS: Well, the State Department also advises Americans to avoid demonstrations in Israel and the territories, yet many U.S. college students are over there just for that reason. Do their parents know? that's a good question. CNN's Cal Perry has more on their alternative summer break.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It looks like the first Palestinian uprising in the late 80s. Palestinian children sling rocks towards Israeli troops. Each rock answered by an authoritative incoming Israeli round. But it's not the late 80s, it's now, and this is the village of Bil'in deep in the West Bank.
Recently, this tiny village was divided by the Israeli separation fence sparking weekly organized demonstrations. But not all the protesters are who you might think they are. They're from Sweden, Chicago, even Canada, beginning their day with a military-style briefing. Tips on how to be careful out there given by an Israeli activist, who has obvious experience.
JOHNATHEN POLLAK, ISRAELI ACTIVIST: Do not wash your face. Tear gas sticks to wet surfaces, and it will stick more if you water your face. What you can use is baby wipes or alcohol pads to wipe away the tear gas.
PERRY: So, while those that actually live here battle it out for every inch, a strange community of outsiders has formed. For many it's their summer of living dangerously. As the bullets fly and people run, they tell tales of life and death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was here when a guy was hit --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A guy got shot in the head.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, he hit his buddy in the head with a rock.
PERRY: There are, of course, those who are ideologically devoted among the group. Americans with staunch political views.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Israel's the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, and I disagree with what's being done with our money. I feel that this is the least I can do. PERRY: Of course, a bullet whipping past your head can change your outlook on things, especially when you're from Arizona and on summer break from college. What worries you the most when you're out here doing this?
RYAN GRAVES, AMERICAN ACTIVIST: Getting shot with American -- with American ammunition. Getting shot with rubber bullets. Tear gas. I might start crying in this interview. There's another.
PERRY: In this valley, it all starts and ends the same way. The protesters march to the fence, the Israelis push them back. Nothing ever really ever changes. Both sides will meet here and do it again next week. Cal Perry, CNN, Bil'in in the West Bank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: There's a new genetic clue to tell you about that could help with prevention of juvenile diabetes. That's straight ahead, here in the newsroom.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. Now, you wouldn't think someone just out of rehab would head straight to a nightclub, right? I'll tell you which Hollywood star spent 45 days in rehab and on the 46th day, she partied in Vegas. We'll have that whole story next in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, from cold turkey to sin city. Lindsay Lohan spent more than a month in rehab, but now she's out and about. Sibilia Vargas out and about in Hollywood for us, with the all the latest entertainment news. Hello, to you ma'am, and please help us. You get out of rehab on Friday, and what better way to continue that rehab process than to go to Vegas? You're kidding me.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: What a way to do it, right? I don't think that this is typically what most people do when they finish up a stint in rehab. But Lindsay Lohan decided she needed a night out after 45 days at the Promises Rehabilitation Center.
One night after checking out of rehab, Lohan was at the Pure nightclub in Las Vegas. She was at what TMZ.com says was a surprise party for her assistant. It's notable that she was at Pure, because before her stay at Promises, the club was scheduled to hold Lohan's 21st birthday party on July 2nd.
According to all the published reports, though, about -- that there were no signs of drinking around Lohan and her crowd. Her publicists say that Lohan was voluntarily wearing an ankle bracelet that detects alcohol so that there will be no doubts that even if she is at the club, she isn't drinking. She's also going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on a daily basis, as well as getting other therapy.
HOLMES: Wait. An anklet that detects whether or not you've been drinking alcohol? Really? VARGAS: Yes. I want to know how that works.
HOLMES: Yes. We could use some of those in the control room, couldn't we, fellows?
VARGAS: Oh, stop.
HOLMES: Well, tell us about this weekend, folks are getting married. Who got married?
VARGAS: Rebecca Romin and Jerry O'Connel tied the knot over the weekend, T.J. The longtime couple were married in Los Angeles on Saturday. It was a small ceremony, with around 100 people attending, not as big as Eva Longoria's. The newlyweds had been engaged for almost two years, which was just months after Romin's divorce to her first husband, John Stamos, was finalized.
Well, tonight on "Showbiz Tonight," we're switching gears and we've got more on how Lindsay Lohan walked out of rehab and immediately walked into a club to party.
She says she's changed her ways, but is she setting herself up for disaster? The shocking answers on TV's most provocative entertainment news program, "Showbiz Tonight" 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on headline prime. Back to you.
HOLMES: All right. We will see you there. Always good to see you, Sibila.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, faith and the staggering cost of betrayal. The nation's biggest archdiocese and the Catholic church's most expensive sex scandal. Some say no amount of money will atone. The latest details in just a moment.
Contamination or retaliation? China banning some meat imports now, from the U.S. We'll explain.
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PHILLIPS: Well, Britain is expelling four Russian diplomats over Moscow's refusal to extradite the number one suspect in the murder of former Russian Spy, Alexander Litvinenko. You remember that Litvinenko died an agonizing death in London after being poisoned. The Brits want to prosecute a former Russian state security agent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MILIBAND, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: Given the importance of this issue, and Russia's failure to cooperate to find a solution, we need an appropriate response.
Our aims are clear. First, to advance our judicial process. Second to bring home to the Russian government the consequences of their failure to cooperate. And third, to emphasize our commitment to promoting the safety of British citizens and visitors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Britain refuses Moscow's offer try the suspect in Russia.
HOLMES: A big discovery on the medical front. Scientists have isolated a key gene that increases the risk of type I diabetes, also known as juvenile diabetes. The gene is linked to the body's immune function.
Researchers are not sure how it operates, though. They write in the "Journal Nature," that there are two versions of the gene, and children with one version are 50 percent more susceptible to type I diabetes. Those with the other are protected from it.
Now, if you did not follow all that, this is the bottom line. Researchers believe this discovery could help doctors determine which newborns are at higher risk for the disease.
PHILLIPS: Important news for parents. Babyfood maker, Gerber, is voluntarily recalling some of its products. The nationwide recall includes 475,000 packages of organic ice and organic oatmeal cereal. The products have the following upc codes, 1500012504 for the organic rice. And, 1500012502 for the cereal. The rice and cereal do not fully dissolve in milk or water and they may leave lumps or clumps that pose a possible choking hazard for babies. Refund information can be found at gerber.com.
HOLMES: Meat products from seven U.S. companies are now off limits in China. China's official news agency says food inspectors found a range of contamination issues in shipments checked on Saturday.
One of the companies, Tyson Foods, the world's largest meat processor. Tyson says, it's not aware of any tainted products. China's ban comes just weeks after U.S. food regulators announced mandatory safety testing of four kinds of fish imported from China. A move China's top food official, said was unacceptable.
Well, the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ESTHER MILLER, CLAIMS PRIEST ABUSE: People think it's because of money. You know, what the money does for us victims? The money pays for our therapy. It's going to pay for me to get better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Time it seems, heals no wounds for Catholics sexually abused by priests.
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